


A Story For Another Day

by lavendericecoffee



Series: TFTBL AU [1]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Language, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Handsome Jack (Borderlands) Being an Asshole, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Minor Athena/Janey Springs, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, References to Depression, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, TFTBL AU, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:35:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29444922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavendericecoffee/pseuds/lavendericecoffee
Summary: After Handsome Jack's death, everyone seemed to have a different reaction. Some celebrated, some cried, some wondered what does it mean for the future. With the failure of the Vault of the Warrior, Hyperion itself struggled to remain on the market. Yet, new Eridian secrets get discovered and the company's legacy prevails. Each Vault is a journey and each journey demands you to lose something in order to gain something else.Timothy, out of fear for his own life, escapes Helios. Ready to begin anew on an old planet, away from anything Hyperion, he finally tries to catch a breath in his ever-changing life.Rhys, completely bereaved, tries to take matters into his own hands. With a vow to become the new Handsome Jack, he works towards his dream promotion to get at the top of the corporate ladder.They meet each other on Pandora, because of a certain Vault Key deal.
Relationships: Athena & Timothy Lawrence, Fiona & Timothy Lawrence & Rhys & Vaughn, Handsome Jack & Rhys (Borderlands), Timothy Lawrence/Rhys
Series: TFTBL AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1801879
Kudos: 14





	1. Prologue I - An "Easy" Way To Get By

**Author's Note:**

> happy Valentine's Day!! its my absolute fave holiday, so of course I had to post my long fic on this date <3
> 
> right back at the New Year's I was talking with Spok abt how I rly would love to write a long fic in 2021. they asked if I meant Tales AU and tho I didnt have it my mind, I just,,, couldnt stop thinking abt this. so with this I started working and planning out this fic. so Spok, honestly, thank u for this idea, all ur ideas actually and boost to make this fic happen, ure the greatest and I dedicate this fic to u 💖💖💖  
> ALSO all the amazing art u can see in this fic is done by them. I love them all so dearly just 🥺🥺
> 
> and u can imagine how surprised I was with the announcement with TFTBL's rerelease. both I was happy as hell cause I dont own it but also like damn,, how did they know I wanted to post my fic at 14th and theyre rereleasing Tales on 17th lmao
> 
> inspo for this chapter and the title is from [Electric Sons' "How To Get By"](https://youtu.be/gClq2LNFDhc)

It wasn’t a secret that Timothy’s life had been exhausting.

Maybe it was a shameful thing to admit but he honestly couldn’t recall the last moment when he could just kick back and feel content or even relaxed. Though, it was also understandable. If you had a face of the most important person in the whole galaxy, you can’t have it easy. Especially if you aren’t this person, you’re just a body double, a simple replacement dummy, made to do the so-called “dirty work”.

Even if Timothy was Jack’s second in command, it’s never been easy. Always on his feet, always ready to take his place and act out the role he knew by heart. Smile with that murderous intent, walk like you’re walking on corpses, look at everyone knowing you’re better than them. In fact, there shouldn’t be any Timothy Lawrence. Just Handsome Jack or doppelganger 21-C. And he should _always_ be within the reach.

In all other spheres of life, Timothy was… Left alone. In these very little moments of being “himself” or more accurately on his own, he was left with thinking. About the world, about his life, anything really. For Timothy, these were moments to think of why his life came to this and even how. How could they have the exact same faces and lead almost exact same lives, yet Timothy couldn’t stop wallowing in his own loneliness, while Jack drank champagne when people kissed the ground he walked. His mind didn’t want to acknowledge how easy the answer to this was.

Well. If it all wasn’t exhausting enough, the last month or two spent while watching and listening to the transmission live from Pandora did the trick.

Timothy was absolutely aware of how Jack worked. If you have to play the guy fulltime, you sorta know how he would act, right? So another train full of Vault Hunters waiting for their death and another victory of Jack’s wasn’t to Timothy’s surprise. What was to Timothy’s surprise was that… They survived. That group of 6 odd ones actually survived. “Anomaly” simply didn’t cut to the thing he felt.

That’s why along with his usual Hyperion responsibilities, Timothy was forced to watch the transmission, just to have everything on sight. Even if he was Jack’s second in command, Jack resented from sending him back on Pandora. He’s had a handful of doppelgangers working there, so it wouldn’t be smart to send his best man there. At least, Jack knew his strategies.

Instead, the annoying glow of his own ECHOcommunicator set started to become his best of best friends. No matter what, it was always on. Always seeing what the Vault Hunters are doing and what they are fighting. Always hearing what kind of insult Jack threw at them along with that awful booming laughter of his. The visions and the sounds started to blur in Timothy’s head, waiting for any kind of conclusion.

Every single day, Handsome Jack proudly spoke throughout Helios that he’s victorious. He’s going to defeat the Vault Hunters, open the Vault and provide Hyperion with more Eridium and loot anyone could’ve ever dreamt of. If now he was on the top of the world, afterwards he was going to be on the top of all six galaxies.

Then came that one fateful day.

It’s been a long time actually. Timothy lost count of the days passing by, he just knew that Jack especially told the doppelgangers on Helios to stay in their cabinets and observe. The day of the supposed showdown has come to place. And it all seemed so perfect too. Timothy saw Jack killing Roland, _the_ commander of the Crimson Raiders. He saw him capture Lilith, the most powerful Siren there ever was. The Vault Key was charging, Jack kept on bragging to all of them what kind of things he’s gonna buy afterwards.

Closing his eyes, the kind of defeat came through Timothy. He knew it was the finish line and he’s never gonna hear the end of it. Jack will win and he will be forced to live the life of this godforsaken fascist for the rest of his pathetic days. Only shiny cities just like Opportunity, full of scared people running for their lives from their overlord. It really was the end of Timothy Lawrence as he knew it.

And yet… The otherwise came true.

It all happened so quickly, he didn’t know where to look on his ECHOvision screen. First, the squad of 6 Vault Hunters stormed the Vault of the Warrior, stopping Jack and his army of the holograms. But it was too late, as Vault Key had been charged and the Warrior – released. Vault Hunters fought bravely with everything they had, everything they could give them. As the bullets flew in the air, the ancient Warrior was destroyed. The last punch delivered via Hyperion moonshot.

In disbelief in his eyes, Timothy observed Jack, now on the mercy of the Vault Hunters and Lilith. Mentally, he was back on Elpis. Looking at Jack at his lowest, defeated and ready to be wiped off the face of Pandora. Before he knew it, the Siren, the one with blue hair, trapped him in a ball and delivered the one last shot. His lifeless body hit the ground, as they ripped the mask off of his face revealing to all of the galaxy the scar in the shape of a Vault symbol. The scar Timothy was cursed to bear as well.

Thus, Handsome Jack was no more. The universe could finally breathe out.

Timothy? Not so much.

He blinked several times at the ECHOscreen, looking at all the Vault Hunters celebrating, picking up their loot and chatting happily. “Fuck,” he muttered underneath his nose. “They actually did it.”

Standing up, Timothy ran off to the small bathroom of his cabinet and looked at himself. The expression on his face was... Surprisingly hard to judge. There was happiness, there was shock, there was this kind of puzzlement he didn’t know how to name. Then Timothy took a step back and grinned as hard as he could.

“ _YES_!!!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, happy the cabinets were close to soundproof. “Oh, good fucking riddance!!!”

Then he laughed. At the victory of the Vault Hunters, at the inevitable but final death of Handsome Jack. He will never ruin anyone’s life, it was time for everyone to heal and build better places, free of his iron fist. They were all free.

As the emotions died down, he looked once more into the mirror, seeing himself smiling and laughing out of sheer childlike happiness. Then he blinked. Finally, he realized one crucial detail.

Looking into the mirror he wasn’t supposed to see Timothy Lawrence, but Handsome Jack.

And Handsome Jack was dead.

Right.

The look in his own eyes shifted immediately. To the terror he didn’t realize would come so quickly. Timothy was aware that every high had a come down. He just had no idea his “high” would last approximately an amazing amount of 3 minutes.

He was going to be dead. In just a moment, the Intel will know the names of every single doppelganger Jack had. Or their numbers, at least. They will take them out of the cabinets and kill them, one by one. They wouldn’t have a hard time finding all of them, it wasn’t as if Jack wasn’t the most “in your face” person ever. Hell, they will most likely start with Timothy, knowing he’s both the second in command and the first ever doppelganger there was.

Timothy stumbled on the bathroom floor, gripping over on the wall. They could be here any minute, if they weren’t busy mourning Jack. He could be dead any second now.

Once more, he took a harder turn and got back to the main space of the cabinet. Walking all around, he had to think of a possible way to get out of this. Hell, he never really knew what he would do when he wouldn’t need to be Handsome Jack anymore. But now, standing right in front of it? It was more than staggering to admit that he truly had no plan.

Okay, the best way to start – who even knew about the doppelgangers?

The truth was that almost everyone was kinda-sorta aware of the fact that Handsome Jack needed body doubles. None of them were public, of course, but the gossips were way too obvious to pass through. Maybe even more so, after that body double in Opportunity was killed. Then the glorious secret came out for everyone to know.

But no, let’s start with the basics. There was Jack. Jack was dead. Move forward. Then, Dr. Autohn, that motherfucker. Timothy snarled at only one thought of him. The creator of this god awful surgery practice, turning so many people into mindless copies of Handsome Jack. Timothy included. He actually saw several of the procedures happening and… He just thanked god, he didn’t saw his own or else he’d go insane. There was also Nurse Nina but the last time Timothy had heard of her, she was finally captured by the federals. He didn’t want to ask.

There were also his own friends back from Elpis times, but... Recently, in the trying of Jack’s to reach the Vault, two of them died. First, Wilhelm. That Vault Hunter psycho buzzaxed him into oblivion. Then, Nisha. As she demanded a shootout, that one ginger girl Vault Hunter’s robot took care of her. How ironic. In all honesty, both of their deaths made Timothy little lightheaded. Yes, he knew they weren’t _good_ people but also… He really wished it didn’t have to end like this. But if they chose Jack, what else could he really say.

Claptrap was alive but dead to Timothy. Next.

Aurelia… Timothy didn’t know. She was smart enough to cut any kind of connection she had to Jack. Only sometimes, she sent Timothy a postcard of her recent hunts. He just wasn’t exactly sure if calling her out to basically pick him up was all that fair. No, definitely not.

And then there was his best friend, Athena along with her girlfriend, Janey. Oh, Athena… The one person Timothy trusted till the end, who had taught him so much about survival and the skills to fight, he could never thank her enough. From what he had heard, she still took the mercenary gig all around Pandora, job-hunting throughout. Athena had to be… Happy. Away from all the things Jack did, having Janey by her side, someone she loved more than anyone else.

She already had her happy ending. Timothy knew he couldn’t ruin it with who he was and what he’s left behind.

So that was the definite list of all the people aware. It wasn’t as helpful as he first thought, huh. Not to mention that there really were minutes between him and everyone finding out. He could already feel the gun pressed against his back. One pull of the trigger and his fate would be identical to Jack’s. With the difference that no one knew or cared about who Timothy Lawrence even was.

One pull of a trigger, it was all it took for most people. He knew it well himself. His own Vault Hunter days back on Elpis made him aware of many many truths in life. And they taught him even more! The endless cold nights spent there, where you have to kill everyone in sight, reach Jack’s goal and most importantly – survive. Yes, Timothy knew his handful about survival and Elpis was his cold hard teacher.

As he now sat on his small bed, Timothy straightened his back in an instant. He knew… A lot about survival. More than most people, especially here on Helios. And he had access to far more things than he could count. What could he say, having Jack’s face was sometimes worth it.

Timothy once more stood up to the mirror. He saw his awful mask, he was forced to wear by Jack, his graying hair, tired blue and green eyes, high cheekbones. A face which didn’t belong to him in the slightest. Then he furrowed his brows and breathed out, knowing what was about to happen.

Maybe, it really wasn’t the end of Timothy Lawrence just yet.

Without another thought necessary, he started thinking of the plan. There had to be no evidence of him leaving Helios. Hell, there had to be no evidence of him even existing. That meant the first stop had to be Jack’s office with the Hyperion database.

Swiftly, Timothy took a look all around his cabinet. There really weren’t this many things laying around. Only necessities such as his clothes (all stylized as Handsome Jack), several care products, maybe some medhypos. Of course, you couldn’t forget the weapons. Timothy opened his drawer, his own beauty having its own shelf. The Hyperion branded sniper, Omni-Cannon. His trusty weapon since the days of Elpis. His other best friend in that regard – had to go with him.

Unfortunately, his other trusty weapon of the Vault Hunters days, the watch, had been broken for years now. Which was a shame. His Digi-Jacks were fantastic for combat, albeit the annoying callouts about how wonderful Hyperion was. It all probably made Timothy even more aware of just how alone he was. Shaking his head, he tried to focus on anything else.

There was… One more thing. One thing, he really did bury in his closet deep within. Searching through the pile of clothes, Timothy found it. The parting gift Athena gave him – a rusty red scarf. Timothy sighed at the memory, remembering it fondly. As she always wore her own signature scarf all around her head, she told him they come in handy. For a doppelganger about to be on the run, Athena really couldn’t have been more right.

Wearing the sniper on his back, taking on the first better yellow Hyperion hoodie on him, he adjusted the hood on his face, wrapped the scarf around it. And went forward. Stealth was the most important thing, right? To his notice, Helios really didn’t take their time to just announce the all-around grief on the space station. Every store closed, no one in sight – everyone locked in their houses. Timothy smiled to himself. The more mindless Jack followers crying on their own, the better for him. The mission suddenly went easier.

Helios’ plan for most people was an absolute maze of yellow offices full of tired workers, small shops with Hermesian food and possible airlocks everywhere. The monument of Jack’s hubris in the skies. Thankfully, Timothy had been in this monument for such a long time he seemed to know every nook and cranny of it. He navigated it swiftly, still holding onto the grip of his rifle. But it was all for nothing. Helios really was surrounded with grief over Jack. As if he deserved that.

Taking the right road, Timothy found himself in the special entrance to Jack’s office. Of course, as all of the doppelgangers, he could access it with ease. Usually it wasn’t with such “ease” to say, since Jack was guarding it heavily. Now Timothy could bypass the securities and reach his destination. Passing some of the traps he knew were there and the murderous trap door itself (it did seem to open easier, sensing Timothy’s…well, Jack’s DNA), he climbed up to Jack’s office itself.

As he opened the door, his mind, despite him not wanting to do so, took a second to wonder about the scale and the looks of it. He had to admit it was impressive. Timothy remembered the first time being there, still as a Vault Hunter. The walls covered with faces of Hyperion’s old leaders, now graced with Jack’s face. Timothy shivered at the constant look of his eyes on himself. Not easy seeing someone who looked like himself this menacing.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Timothy ran towards the desk. The best way to have access to Hyperion’s database at the top of his fingertips. Sitting down, Timothy froze in a moment, remembering a crucial detail.

Shit. He really had no idea about hacking, didn’t he.

In panic, he looked all around himself. What would Jack do, what was the way out? He should know this the best, why was he so scared all of a sudden! Searching his mind for a possible answer, he closed his eyes. Then he got it.

With now a more relaxed move, Timothy sat back comfortably and let his overconfident tone do its thing.

“Hey baby, Jack here. Gimme the access to the thingy… Thing, will ya?” he really was losing his cool there. Clearing his throat, his tone became more serious. “You don’t want to see what I can do to you, if you won’t give it to me, huh?”

A beat of silence. Timothy tried to count seconds between his breaths.

“Password needed,” an overly happy Hyperion lady spoke her line.

Ah. Obviously, there had to be a password. Just what could it be, what could possibly be the key to Jack’s power and access to anything…

Timothy caught a glance of the photo on the desk and said calmly, “Angel.”

“Access granted!”

_Oh, thank god._

Angel… No, Timothy didn’t know much about Angel. She was Jack’s best kept secret, no one dared to know who she was and what she did. In actuality, Timothy first saw her at that transmission, seeing her finally freed. To know that Jack imprisoned his only daughter, made her addicted to Eridium and forced her to charge his Vault Keys till infinity was… Cruel didn’t actually describe how disgusted Timothy was with the thought of it. Poor girl… At least, she was avenged.

Closing his eyes, Timothy shivered. _Focus_.

Operating through the protocols wasn’t the easiest thing, especially since Timothy ran low on time. His eyes scanned the pages, as he finally found the doppelganger section. Since it required the password, Timothy begrudgingly said the girl’s name again. Then he was good to go.

Another look through the list, thousands of numbers going before his eyes. And then he saw his own file, right at the bottom. Doppelganger 21-C.

Without a second thought, Timothy deleted it.

When the computer confirmed the process, Timothy blinked several times. Doppelganger 21-C… Didn’t exist anymore. Not by the inevitable death by the Hyperion troops. But by himself.

Knowing exactly what to do, Timothy closed his eyes one more time and said, with both the tremble and bravery he’s never dared to have.

“Timothy Lawrence.”

And nothing happened.

Shaky breath escaped his throat. He didn’t exist. He was free. And then he smiled again.

Another step and he’d be on his way to victory, it was just within his reach. Timothy’s uneasy hands found their way back to the files, finding the one dedicated to Helios’ escape pods. Well, one thing he knew about it, was that Jack would _never_ have enough to fit all of the population of the space station into these. But there had to be even less. Seeing the number before his eyes, he decreased it by one. Just digitally, seeing that if he (or anyone else from the staff) won’t have it taken away within 30 minutes, it will just self-destruct. And the staff probably already had a message that the pod had been unable to use. That was just enough time for him.

Timothy ran away, as fast as he could. Not thinking of any other alarms he could’ve set, still gripping tightly onto his sniper rifle. Any Loader Bot that stumbled across his way got an easy bullet in its metallic head. It didn’t matter, it all didn’t matter a single thing. The only thing he truly cared for was that escape pod at the end of his journey.

Feeling the moments slipping by, Timothy didn’t even care for passing by all the corridors, remembering the details of this place. His legs felt light as he ran even faster. And then he reached the drop pod location. Spotting his own little escape pod, flashing with a red light. Well, red was Timothy’s favorite color anyway. Seemed fitting enough for his key to freedom.

In the corner of his eye, he saw some more Loaders trying to maintain the sector. Frantically, Timothy took a deep, ribs shattering breath and pressed several buttons on the panel. The pod opened in the last second, as Timothy hid himself inside, hoping the Loaders didn’t catch that last glimpse of him.

The pod disconnected itself from the space station, leading itself and Timothy inside to the crash course right onto Pandora. It was done.

The last thing Hyperion could give him was the sort of comfortable seating right in the pod. Like a one last parting gift you would get from your ex-lover. Timothy let his back press against the seating and tried not to think of how high he was up in the sky.

But he did peek and… Oh god, it was way too high. Timothy shivered, feeling ready to throw up at the sight. Quickly, he shut his eyes, breathing shallowly. Right… Right, the escape pod might not be the greatest place for someone with raging acrophobia. Well. Small price to pay.

If looking down would probably be the worst idea for him, _surely_ , looking up might be a better one? Right? With a single motion, Timothy turned away looking high up in the sky. And he sighed. There it was, the last up-close look at Helios.

There was honestly no way to describe Helios for Timothy. In both the negative and positive way of thinking. For the longest time, it was a prison, the reminder that Timothy will never truly be himself. Even if he had the infinite power on his hands, he could do almost everything he’s ever wanted. On Helios, he was the pretend king. The problem was that he never even wanted to be a knight.

So why was it that when the image of Helios became smaller and more distant from him, he felt that weird tug on his heartstrings? That he’s leaving away in actuality a big part of himself, a place where he’s spent so much time already. It was kind of his home in a lot of ways, no matter how shallow and self-absorbed.

He pressed his lips together. No, it was for his own good. He couldn’t stay there. He never saw himself living a life there, even when his contract was up. It was time to stop living the illusion and face the reality – Helios was no good and he needed something else. Anything else. Hell, at this point Pandora seemed like a paradise compared to it.

Timothy turned away, face forward to Pandora, trying not to look back anymore.

* * *

“Falling into place” never felt this literal for Timothy.

At the end of its journey, the pod started to reach bigger and bigger velocities. Timothy gritted his teeth, grunting something underneath his nose. But the Pandoran wastelands became even more vivid and so easy to reach. The last step was to land. And for sure it was _a landing_.

The pod crashed onto the surface of the planet so harshly, Timothy had to dig his fingernails deep into the seating. Feeling his legs go a little upwards because of the gravity, he honestly just pleaded he’ll land somewhat safely. In reality, it could’ve been both worse and better. A mixed bag like everything else that has happened to him, just within the span of about two days.

Then there was that silence. Maybe with a bit of the sound of Pandoran dry wind howling. As he finally sat somewhat steady, Timothy looked around himself. The view from the pod wasn’t all that fantastic, so he opened it, ready to step into his new reality.

“Ready” was probably an overstatement in this case.

With a nervous beat to his heart, Timothy opened the pod. Reassuring himself that the surroundings were somewhat clear, he finally took that first step. He slid right through the entrance, landing steady on his feet. Taking in the view trying his hardest to comprehend… Anything really. Anything and everything.

It really seemed like a typical Pandoran landscape. He didn’t land in neither the utopian Opportunity nor Sanctuary, where he would probably get kicked out immediately, to say lightly. As well as, it wasn’t the frozen wastelands of places like the Southern Shelf or Three Horns, which he was very thankful for. God, how he heated the cold.

Instead, wherever his eyes went, Timothy saw rocky mountains with endless desert. The yellow tint felt almost nostalgic, as if he just needed to be in a place which resembled Helios in the smallest of ways. The scorching sun and a flock of rakks, flying high up in the sky. Several all dried up trees with nothing on them and electric vines as the only green he had noticed. That was it. Timothy’s new home. Temporarily. Maybe.

He checked himself once more. Hood still stuck on his head, as well as his scarf. The grip onto the sniper, everything other necessary such as maybe spare clothes and some food, tucked away in his pockets in these little experimental Hyperion shrinking cubes. To be more convenient, of course. All he had was on him, all his future was in front of him.

Timothy loosened his grip, his eyes opening wider. “I did it,” he said in disbelief. “I frickin’ did it. WOOH!! TAKE THAT, HELIOS!! STUPID PIECE OF SHIT!!! Guess who’s a free man now – me, baby!!!”

He screamed and laughed, and stomped, and wanted to throw his hands in the air. Even if the shadow of this damned place was in his sight, it didn’t matter. It couldn’t reach him, grab him by any means. All that mattered was that it all came true. After so many months, hell, _years_ of being stuck there. And Timothy finally closed the page on that terrible, godforsaken book.

As he celebrated his victory, finding more creative ways to say what he thinks of Helios, Hyperion and whatnots, the sounds of screaming beat him in a sound making content. Mercilessly, for that matter. Timothy froze in place, realizing the situation.

He was on Pandora. The bandit-filled, crime-before-breakfast Pandora. And he just yelled at the top of his lungs in his Jack sounding voice.

Huh.

Before his mind could catch up to his senses, Timothy ran away from the drop site as fast as he could. Damn, how many times will he be forced to do so this day. Not to mention that whenever he will catch that needed moment of breath, he needed to have a serious talk with himself. Mostly about not screaming out of joy, in obviously dangerous situations. Sure, that was a good lesson to learn.

“Shit, shit shit shit, crap ooohhh no no no no no,” Timothy kept saying underneath his breath, trying to find any place to hide and maybe snipe them down. But every single rock formation seemed so far away, he simply couldn’t get away in time.

The bandit seemed to be some sort of local athlete, as they so easily caught up with Timothy. With the last bits of his stamina, he tried his damn hardest to get away. But it wasn’t enough. The bandit screamed even louder, throwing themself right onto the ground. Knocking Timothy off his feet and grabbing him by them.

If after getting his desired freedom he was going to die by a random bandit, that would most likely be the most pathetic way to go down. It just couldn’t end like this.

Wriggling around, Timothy kicked their face, desperate to get away. It seemed to work somehow, as he at least got away from their grip. He stomped one last time, to put them in place. But the bandit seemed way more forward thinking than Timothy gave them credit for.

With a swift motion and their last breath, they took away their small Jakobs pistol and shot him. Timothy arched backwards, feeling the painful heat spreading quickly against all of his shoulder. That seemed to make him way more collected. The bullet hit the collarbone – just an inch lower and he could’ve been done.

Biting off a pained scream, he both felt blood on his tongue and wetness of it over on his shoulder. Not wanting to waste any more of his precious moments, Timothy took his sniper. Aim, shoot, kill. That easy. And the bandit screams cut off immediately, the motion underneath his foot stopped.

 _Welcome to Pandora, kiddos_ , Timothy thought hearing Jack’s voice echo in his head.

* * *

About 30 minutes after landing and Timothy already got all the excitement he needed to endure.

In true Pandoran fashion, he looted the bandit’s corpse, trying to find anything that could help him out in the long run. He took some money and that nice little Jakobs pistol. The bandit also had some crappy bandit made SMG but Timothy didn’t feel like it worked out the best for him. His hand was in fact used to the highly accurate Hyperion guns, so it would just fly around and in the end break after possibly three shots.

He also spotted an emergency med hypo they stored in one of the pockets. Dusting it off, Timothy injected it with a single push, feeling the heat over on his shoulder slowly stopping. Well, wasn’t that his first Pandoran battle scar – another one to the collection.

With a heavier step, he decided to get back to his drop pod and maybe figure out something from there. Inside, there still were several of his packed micro-luggage, mostly containing food. At least to keep him away from skag meat for a reasonable amount of time. There was also some more money and possible meds… Better to gear up before he went forward into the deserts.

But as he noticed the pod in the distance, he could already see a swarm of tinks, trying to rob him blind.

“Hey!! Back off, free loaders!!” he screamed at them and shot a warning shot into the air. It probably got some random rakk, since just a moment after he could hear something dropping heavily onto the ground.

The tinks hissed at him but as he reached the pod, they all already dispersed. Well, thank god, Timothy really wasn’t in the mood to get more blood on his clothes than it already had. He opened the pod, trying to see if anything had survived. But his expression dropped quickly. Of course. They took almost every single thing out of there.

Timothy closed his eyes and banged his head against the frame on the opening, “Stupid. _Asshole_. Why would you leave it unattended, just whyyy.”

Bracing himself again, Timothy breathed out. He then dug into the pod once more, seeing what was left. About 4 cubes of this luggage of his, that should last him for at least a week or two. Well, he couldn’t say it was nothing, right? That’s why Timothy appeared back onto the ground, putting himself together.

It’s just the beginning… But as far as beginnings went, it all felt like his first time being on Helios and surviving the Lost Legion attack. Okay, frankly, it might’ve been a little better than Helios. At this point, anything was better.

Another moment to think it all through. He definitely couldn’t stay back in this pod or even take anything else with him. In just a second after he’s gone (or even if he’s still there), other tinks might assault his capsule and possibly end his journey here. Timothy needed shelter and probably to clean himself up. Easier said than done, as they’ve said.

But in spite of it all, Timothy didn’t want to lose hope. How many times could he make as life changing decisions as this one, right? He wasn’t gonna lose what he’s believed in so much and especially, he wasn’t gonna let Jack win.

So he sighed once more, puffed his chest and went in the next direction. Looking all throughout the deserts, trying to find any place to stay. The more steps he took, the more Timothy was willing to believe that the pod took him into the dead end of Pandora. Which was… Really nice of it? In all honesty, Timothy hated being around people, maybe even more so now. He was always anxious and even if he got better with age, the nonstop stimulation of both being on Helios and playing Handsome Jack was getting to him.

Maybe it was a favor from the universe? That after so many exhausting years of uncomfortable interactions, he got to a place where it was all him. It might’ve been also his bad luck that he found these bandits, trying to ruin his stay from the start. Cause Timothy trying his damn hardest couldn’t find a single living soul in this part of Pandora. Not a bandit camp, nor anything really. Just him and his guns.

And some skags, here and there. Regional flavor.

After about an hour or so of constant walking (and still struggling to find a living soul amongst the rocks), Timothy felt his legs almost ready to fall off from himself. The heat too, seemed to be increasingly worse to him by each minute. Ready to almost give it up and simply fall over to the scorching ground, the universe seemed to smile upon Timothy.

Right in the corner of his eyes, he could see a shack between the rocks. The joy he felt in his chest was so unspeakable, it did make his legs go just this extra mile. He was almost there.

Several minutes of running and Timothy had reached his destination. _Finally_. Who really cared that this shack looked, as if it was about to collapse? Wherever he looked, it just seemed abandoned, or possibly really terribly kept together. The odd wooden piles missing in several places, one window broke. Heh... Nothing impossible to fix.

Out of sheer politeness, Timothy knocked on the door. And waited. And waited. And there was no answer. So he smiled brightly and went inside.

Maybe it was the home he’s been searching for. Or at least, a version of it.

* * *

It was far from perfect. But it could do for now.

As Timothy suspected, there really was no sight of anyone living there for some time now. Or maybe it belonged to someone _this_ nonsufficient? Just one big comfy armchair (Timothy immediately appreciated this), a simple shelf, some counter that could kinda resemble the kitchen and surprisingly alright bathroom corner. Who cared who owned it before, what mattered to him was that he could definitely take it as his own.

That’s why he’s spent the rest of his day on a little bit of an accommodation process. Putting away his micro-luggage, taking needed clothes and food that had survived. Timothy of course changed himself up, knowing right underneath his hoodie, there was a full blown Handsome Jack… Let’s say, _cosplay_. With an uneasy stare, he took it all off, got it in a box and put it away on the highest possible shelf he owned. If he had ever gotten a bigger cupboard, he was sure as hell gonna put it even higher.

The accommodation process at least made him see all of the possible details of this place. The odd colored walls and several ammo crates left on the ground. And one lamp, still kind of sort of working. It all led Timothy to believe that there probably was someone living here, not even that long ago. But oh well, finders keepers.

As the twilight settled in, Timothy was ready to take another step.

Once more, Timothy found himself in a bathroom. Just as the one in his cabinet on Helios, as this little shack on Pandora. How little and how much had changed in the span of about a day and a half or so. He stared intensely at his features, looking at every possible change. But nothing really came by. The grip on the shard in his hand hardened but not too much to wound himself. It was perfect the way it was.

Putting it towards his face, he let the glass shard pressure itself against the metal clasps of his mask. Timothy didn’t even need to use this much force, almost cutting it together. If he will end up with several scratches where the metal was, it was honestly the smallest possible price he could pay for this. So he cut away, not caring if the shard irritated the skin. Right now, it was the least of his issues.

The sound of the plastic hitting the sink was all it took for him. Still focused on the clasps, Timothy pulled all of them away, as they also hit the spot next to the mask.

His hands gripped the edges of the sink so forcefully, his knuckles turned whiter in color. Oh god, was he ready for this? It’s been so long since he saw it, even if he did just see It on Jack’s dead face. It couldn’t be this bad, it was still his face, I mea-

Timothy pressed his lips. _Pull it together, man_ , he scolded himself in the back of his mind. With his eyes still firmly closed, he let himself straighten his back and face whatever he’d see in the mirror.

His eyes opened begrudgingly. Firstly, adjusting to the light, then… Settling on that “whatever” he was supposed to see in the mirror. In front of him, there was a man. With darker brown graying hair, in the messiest ‘do you could imagine. With skin discolored by the mask, forehead much darker in tone than the whole face, odd patches of freckles all against it. With right eye blue and left eye blind, without the mask and the ECHOeye on. And with that scar, spread all across his face in that blue color he’ll never forget.

A shaky breath. That was him. Till the rest of his days. One day, he’ll get used to this… He hoped.

Well. After this whole day he needed… Maybe a reminder or two. He wasn’t the same kind of guy as he was on Helios. He will never be him. So it was good to keep up with the basics, collect all of the things that will make him feel a little more him.

His name was Timothy Lawrence. A name denied for so long, he could finally speak up. Timothy remembered these days where he would just scribble it down on a piece of paper, thousands of times. Never to forget it, to keep it always with him.

His age… Ooh, a tricky one. Counting several times in a row, thinking of his college years and the age he remembered to be when he took the surgery, he came to the realization that he was in fact 30 years old. Something in Timothy shuddered at the thought. The imagination of a stupid teenager who thought that by 30 he’d have a steady job, written a successful novel, several cats and the love of his life by his side. Timothy scoffed. A pipe dream it was.

Alright, back to the easier ones. Gender? Male. Birthday? 11th November (another one he scribbled so hard not to forget). Zodiac? Scorpio. Sexuality? Bisexual. College major? Creative writing (waste of my time, Timothy thought). Occupation? An unfortunate ex-doppelganger and now, probably a mercenary or a lone gun. Uhh, favorite color? Red. Favorite animal? Cats. Damn, he was good at this, almost as if he was getting information for a dating site, Timothy laughed in his mind.

It seemed for him that he got the basics right, now it was time probably for some rules. Cause if he wanted to get by, he needed a way to do it. Timothy knew this and that about survival already, the days spent on cold hard Elpis shaped him to the man he was now. With Athena in his mind, he tried his hardest to set up the easiest set of things to follow.

Surviving the longer times, needed Timothy to be alert at all times necessary. Especially on Pandora. Which was… Most of the time. Always to look onto his supplies, even several times a day. Not to run out of anything in the worst times. Which also included protecting himself, whenever needed. Don’t attack, if they didn’t attack you.

Now onto the more… Personal ones.

Let the _handsome cosplay_ stay but only if the situation is critical. This chapter is done and over, don’t think about it. It’s not worth your time.

Learn not to… Talk too much. Your voice is distracting. It can attract too many unwanted guests who will kill you. There is no other alternative, if you spill too much you will be dead. Timothy knew better than to tempt death. Besides, did he really want to listen to himself this much? The answer came easier than expected.

And no more Hyperion. There was no need for him to be involved in this mess ever again, no matter if he overhears it on some Pandoran market place or hears of some new and fresh hotshot trying to follow Jack’s footsteps. It wasn’t important, it shouldn’t exist for him.

There. Seemed like a reasonable enough set of rules.

Flicking the light away, Timothy went back to... _His_ living space and sat back onto that armchair. If he just followed it all, he was surely gonna get by somehow on Pandora. Whenever the time will be right, he’ll go forward, find that better place for him to live. It was good enough of a start.

He sighed once more. Learning to be self-reliant took time but… Timothy was sure it was worth it. It was worth being a free man, no matter the circumstances. It was worth never thinking that he was anyone else than Timothy Lawrence, all throughout.

A small sound startled him. _Shit_ , did someone find him already? Anyone, some secret agent or a bandit, or hell, even a skag ready to hunt him down? Immediately, the rifle fell into his hands, as he wanted to strike down whatever the hell it was.

But then that thing meowed. And Timothy felt his heart melting away.

Peeking through his door, he saw a small cat on the doorstep. A fluffy gray cat with the biggest blue eyes there could be. It eyed him almost suspiciously, waiting for his cues. Maybe it already knew humans enough to know that it could find shelter within Timothy’s home? No matter what was the cause, Timothy beamed with the biggest of smiles.

“Hii, sweetheart,” he cooed at the cat. “Are you wandering around? Or are you lost like… Sorta like me?”

The cat didn’t answer. Simply, it walked straight into the shack. Timothy couldn’t believe his luck.

What if this cat belonged to the previous owner of the shack? Or it was just an outdoor cat trying to find its way wherever? No matter what, Timothy couldn’t help but be impressed by it. The cat survived both Pandoran deserts after the sunset, all the skags ready to strike and then walked to Timothy’s (yes) shack like it was nothing. It definitely didn’t need to learn how to be self-reliant.

Well, if it was here to stay, Timothy couldn’t be happier. All he’s wanted for his happier life was a cat and he’s gonna take the best care of it. Cause well, everyone needed some company in life. The cat probably was feeling lonely and away from everyone… Just like Timothy. And surviving by yourself wasn’t the most pleasant thing in the universe.

Surviving by yourself… Timothy’s shoulders dropped.

He remembered what he said. He knew it was better to take it all on himself. But… He probably couldn’t. Cause learning how to get by in the easiest way needed humility. To understand that you can’t have everything on its own and you can’t do anything _on_ your own. No matter how hard you try, being alone is harder than one thinks. After many painfully lonely months, Timothy could truly feel so.

The lessons of survival also needed a teacher. And Timothy exactly knew who already was the best teacher he’s ever had.

He took his ECHO in his hands, dialed the number and hoped to find the tongue in his mouth.

“Hi? Athena? It’s, em… It’s Timothy Lawrence. Youuu might know me better as “Jimothy”.”


	2. Prologue II - Vampire Money

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally, its up!! time for Rhys' side for the story
> 
> inspo for this chapter and the title is from [My Chemical Romance's "Vampire Money"](https://youtu.be/BjZ0dNCHR5U). a true ode to my inner emo kid and Twilight stan

In Rhys’ apartment, there were currently only two sources of light – the ECHOvision set and his own ECHOdevice, ringing for the 4th time this hour.

His hand ghosted around just to find the ECHO and answer it, while his eyes were still glued to the screen. It proved to be much harder than he expected as his hand brushed onto many, many different things. First, there was the feeling of the fluffy blanket he was currently wrapped in. Then several smaller things – mostly used tissues and empty wrappings of various candy. Maybe some empty ice cream tubs. Feeling something sticky on his fingers, Rhys snarled in disgust. God, what even was that. No, he didn’t want to know the answer.

Nevertheless, he found the device amongst the mess and pressed the “answer” option.

“Mmh, anything important?” Rhys whined over the call.

Not that he spoke to anyone in… Probably since the end of the Friday work hours, actually. Nor that he checked who wanted to check upon his fortress of sadness. That’s why his voice sounded raspy and exhausted. As well as it betrayed more than Rhys wanted it to.

“Geez. You sound like a dying skag,” the voice on the other side signalized that the person currently disrupting his mourning was his best friend, Vaughn. Of course.

“Yeah, I kinda feel like one too,” he wanted to elaborate further, but he’s heard a swish of the device, going from one hand to another.

“Of course, he sounds like this. And do you even know what it sounds like?” another voice joined along. This time it was his other best friend, Yvette.

“No but I imagine just as… Sad and pathetic,” Vaughn answered. “Wait, you don’t know how it sounds either!”

“No, of course not but at least I’m aware of it,” well, certainly neither of them had changed ever since that happened. Which almost pissed Rhys off even more. How could they act like everything was normal? How could they be so casual? He was close to lashing out at them but he was silenced by Yvette continuing her thought, “Rhys, have you even left the apartment over the weekend?”

“No. It’s not like there’s out there for me,” Rhys said carelessly to them, taking the remote into his hands and increasing the volume of his ECHOvision. Even if he already knew every single word spoken by the transmission, the constant repeat of it had made him a little more “grounded in reality”, as they say. Or at least, in Rhys’ own personal reality.

But Yvette persisted, “Did you get any sunlight today? Or any light for that matter?”

“I regret to inform you but we’re on Helios. Where there’s barely any natural light,” he rolled his eyes. “And I’m from Boreas. We have about 3 months of complete darkness there. Not like ‘m not used to it.”

“He kinda has a point about the lig-” Vaughn chimed in but quickly shut this thought. “I mean, no! Man, for real, how long has it been going on? A week, 2 weeks?”

“I don’t remember.”

Even if they tried to hide it, Rhys could tell they both took the ECHO a little further away from themselves. Along with the sound of a hand hitting the device and muffled tone of Vaughn’s, “Yvette, it’s worse than we thought.”

“I know… Let me think, we have to find a way to lure him out of this,” Yvette pondered. At least, _she_ has decided to lower her voice.

“Yeah… There’s gotta be something…” Vaughn agreed.

“Guys,” the sound of Rhys’ voice cut to them immediately. “Did you know I can hear everything you say? No? Then it might be worth mentioning.”

He could’ve sworn Vaughn and Yvette exchanged a look between each other in silence. With the silence continuing for so long, Rhys was sure they were finally done with their preaching. Yeah. Wishful thinking.

Vaughn tried again, “Rhys. You gotta face it. You’ve been avoiding everyone, ever since Handsome Jack die-“

“DON’T mention this around me,” Rhys snarled in response.

The sound he made scared even himself. Lower tone of his, he only ever used when he was really angry or exhausted. Maybe, it was just a product of not talking, well, at all. Or a façade about to go down. So many days spent reassuring himself that it was alright. Surrounding himself with fake images and familiar sounds. As if it was just a weird nightmare he’s about to wake up from.

But, no. It was painfully real. Handsome Jack was dead.

That day still felt so vivid for him. Rhys got up from his bed earlier than usual. Just a day before Henderson wanted him to check several management sectors – not a word greater than his. For Rhys, anyway. Surprisingly well rested, he proceeded to do his daily routine. Check everything on the ECHOnet, clean himself up, maybe eat some breakfast. Nothing too exciting.

As he was drying his hair, he had heard a ping! of his device. Followed by several more pings in a row. Confused, Rhys put the hairdryer down, wanting to check whatever the hell had happened that everyone seemed to want him to know about. All at the same time, for that matter.

Then he saw it. And then he had heard a muffled sound of his own ECHOdevice, hitting the floor surface.

The next following days felt to him like a blur. Rhys remembered the obligatory mourning hours, which basically shut Helios down for who knows how long. The never sleeping, always profiting Helios being closed off. That just had to be a real deal. The usually loud part of him, focused on the progress promptly quieted itself down. After the hours demanded by the high offices, Rhys had gone back to work. Of course, he couldn’t have it any other way. But each free hour he had been back in his apartment, away from all of his friends and colleagues.

It’s been about 2 weeks. Rhys still couldn’t bring himself to get back on it.

How could he, really? His idol, the one man he looked up to more than anything in the world was dead. For that matter, he was killed by a group of low life Vault Hunters! Handsome Jack was supposed to be invincible. He was supposed to live forever and make the galaxy his own. And he didn’t even make Pandora his own, as it delivered the one last punchline, sending him to an early grave. Rhys could’ve sworn, he was ready to rip the heads off of each of these Vault Hunters, but the Siren especially. She deserved to pay the price.

Now it was best to dedicate this time to… Reflect. Upon Handsome Jack’s days, achievements, what he had left after him. Rhys looked through the posters he had, several autographs all in varying quality (man’s been busy, he thought), and watched every single archival video or spot he had saved. Then the ones found throughout all the ECHOnet. Over and over again, letting each word sick deep into his brain.

Rhys kept recalling the moments they’ve met. All the conventions, barely taken seconds at office parties, several times he’d caught his glance doing the paperwork. And his personal favorite – how one time Handsome Jack spit on him. Ah, memories.

Well… The memories were all he had at this point. They’ve never really met properly, face to face. And they never will. The image of his hero and the distance between them, never to be breached. Rhys lost his one last chance and he’ll probably be cursing himself over this, till the end of his days.

What did it even mean for his own self? Who was he, if there was no Handsome Jack around? And what did it mean for the whole universe? Rhys couldn’t just carry himself on. The mere thought of who he was supposed to be, now that Jack is dead, was paralyzing him to his own core. For so long, it was one of his biggest dreams – follow his footsteps, be just like him. What was even the point, when the footsteps were about to be lost with time, wiped away by those who reigned victorious against him.

Day after day, Rhys seemed to be much more reluctant to do anything, outside his usual management work. It was just him, his videos, life-sized Handsome Jack posters and rocky road ice cream to pass the unforgiving free time by. But everyone noticed. Everyone knew it would be bad for him. Maybe they just didn’t know it’d be this bad.

They left him to deal with that Jack mourning alone. Which he sort of appreciated, he really didn’t need to hear anyone acting like a know-it-all about his own feelings. But he guessed, all good things had to come to an end.

Knowing he’d just drifted off for far far too long, Rhys cleared his throat and tried his hardest to remember what did they even say to him, “Look. I know how it is. I know you two care about me but I am managing this. Just let me deal with this on my own, okay?”

“And you know you can’t do it on your own. Man, this is not what you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to get a promotion, remember? And you can’t do this by eating ice cream all day!” Vaughn tried to argue further.

There was this low, barely hearable hum coming from Yvette. She was thinking, intensely, “Think about the future, Rhys. And maybe think to yourself – what would Handsome Jack do?”

“I’ll see you around.”

With one click, he ended the call.

He tossed the ECHOdevice and rolled his eyes, whispering something underneath his mouth. With a heavy motion, Rhys wrapped himself in a blanket, and turned on another interview of Handsome Jack on the highest possible volume. Now, he was ready to go back to his own normal. So Rhys got comfortable, sat back, watched carefully, while studying Handsome Jack’s each move and thought.

And thought.

And thought.

The loudest of groans escaped his mouth, as he hid his face away in his hands, pressing them forcefully into his face. Suddenly, everything seemed like too much. All what he’s heard from Vaughn and Yvette, all the heavy thoughts and feelings all around him. That one thought following him, everywhere he went. Was Rhys really ready to face the truth? Or was he going to wallow in his sadness forever?

With a defeat, Rhys looked over the ECHOvision set again. It displayed another bit of the interview, with Jack in his fullest. Speaking the words of pride and arrogance, brighter than Siren’s tattoos glowing. As if it was broadcasted live only a minute ago.

“…You know, cupcake, it’s all… So easy to get. When-when you force your little empty head of yours to think for a second. I mean, how did I get here? Because I never looked back. You think I even considered for a single moment what these idiots will think? Everyone was telling me “Jaack, your ass will be stuck to that chair till it becomes one with it”. And what did I say? “Yeah, watch your back, kitten”. And then they look back and I can shoot them easier! Fricking morons!! Haha, and that’s why Handsome Jack always lives in a moment, baby.”

Each word of his slipping from his tongue, slick and full of himself. Rhys remembered perfectly the day when it was first posted on ECHOnet. “Handsome Jack’s Road To Success”. He remembered watching this and noting almost every word Jack has said there. The words influencing him to no end, the ones he would treat as holy.

Another set of words came to his head. The ones spoken by Yvette, something clearer than anything else he’s heard in the past several days.

What would Handsome Jack do?

Well, Rhys knew exactly what Handsome Jack would do in his situation. For starters, it was unreal for him to think of any circumstance, where Jack would even… Look up to someone. No, that was impossible. Handsome Jack was above having idols, brighter than any sun or a star. And Jack wouldn’t cry over someone, not for this many days. Crap, Rhys might have really taken the wrong steps choosing how to handle this.

And Handsome Jack… Never looks back. He…was always there, not caring about what was mundane. He was going forward. Despite everything, he found a way to be on top and not care about failures or losses. And he stayed there, till the rest of his too short days. The infinite amount of confidence and self-assurance was exactly the first thing that Rhys grew to appreciate about him.

Cause this is all Rhys has always wanted to be, right? Confident. Top dog. Never to be belittled, nor overlooked. Always coming up on top. The main event. The leader. The spectacle.

Rhys turned off the ECHOvision and hummed underneath his nose. For the first time in weeks, he finally knew what to do.

Taking off the heavy blanket, Rhys stood up and stretched himself out. His poor muscles felt a lot less capable, as they usually were. Used to running around Helios, now moving for the first time in the charitable “since he got from work”. Then he turned on the most natural looking lights he had available. That was exactly that necessary but it certainly made the room look much nicer. Only then, he could confidently storm off into his bathroom.

While buying this particular apartment, Rhys made sure it had a pretty spacious bathroom with lots, and he meant lots of space for all his products. Quickly, he dressed down and took a step into his shower. Letting the colder water wake him up, as much as he needed it. Rhys was always certain that a good shower can actually do wonders to a person. The stream of water, hitting his body, trying to get his senses back to work. And as he stepped out of it, he knew it was true to the core.

Next step was to get that good look at himself in the mirror. Just by a glance Rhys grimaced, spotting that weird peach fuzz on his face. Along with bags underneath his eyes and the even paler shade of his skin. But it was all to be corrected. With an ease, Rhys started working along his skin care routine, putting all the necessary peelings, creams and face masks onto himself. He also started shaving away all the unnecessary hair both on his face and well, the rest of his body. Again – always made him feel better.

One last move of the razor away and Rhys felt like a new man already.

Though it wasn’t all there was to it. By the natural progression of his day, he then would’ve gone to change himself to all the clothes he felt the best in. For Rhys, it was the perfectly tailored, yet comfortable shirts, dressings pants and a vest. His style was of asymmetry and the fancy patterns, striking yet subdued in his sense. After all, he always liked to stand out in the crowd.

However, on his way to his dressing room, Rhys stopped by a huge poster of Handsome Jack, hanging in his room. He knew all the details of it, all the little things about his outfit, the confident look on his features. This one was signed too. Right at the bottom there was “be true to yourself!! and me. mostly me” written in his round penmanship. Rhys sighed and recollected himself.

Handsome Jack had failed. As much as he admired the guy, Rhys wasn’t going to beat around the bush. He wasn’t exactly sure where the plan had been ruined yet. But there were some things to simply better up. There really was no time to cry over his fallen hero, oh no. It was in his hands to take up the spot, stop belittling himself, take the initiative and win. Rhys smiled proudly.

If there was no Handsome Jack around, it was time for a better one to step up.

* * *

Fake it till you make it. What a fantastic thing to live by, Rhys thought to himself.

Or at least, in a lot of times it’s been a thing that kept him going. The confidence within him, both the true one that made him feel like a shining star. And the fabricated one, that made him go on, when the universe felt a little heavier on his shoulders. Often it was enough to restore Rhys’ energy and make him want to take on the day. Cause if he didn’t believe in himself who would, right?

With this in mind, he felt like he was finally ready to enter Helios’ dining space.

“DUCK!!” someone’s scream cut through the room. Then someone’s dinner plate cut through the room. So Rhys obeyed.

Well. Maybe Helios’ dining space wasn’t ready for him.

Wherever he looked there were people arguing, throwing punches or food at each other. Like on a true battlefield, instead of a simple space. The terror on the faces of these poor food stores employees and the absolute heat in the air. Rhys clicked his tongue with surprise. Trying to miss all the hummus plates and bullets, he navigated towards Vaughn and Yvette’s table.

“Well well well, look who we have here,” said Yvette, looking up from her salad plate.

“I thought you’re gonna be stuck there forever, bro!” Vaughn agreed.

“Yeah, happy to see you both too, guys,” laughing a little, Rhys took the remaining third chair. “But uh, what the hell is going on there?”

“You know,” Yvette took another bite of her salad and shrugged. “Just complete, utter chaos.”

In a second a security Loader Bot walked through the door. Though probably it came here to restore some order, instead it blew up in place. Right next to a food stand. Rhys ducked instinctively, in the correct moment. Still getting a little ranch dressing on his shoulder, “Tell me about it.”

Helios now was a bit of a mystery for him. Being so away from any social circles, Rhys wasn’t exactly sure how other sectors have taken Handsome Jack’s death. Since in the working spaces it’s been more or less considered a taboo to bring it up. Truth be told, he only knew how the Handsome Jack fan pages had handled it. The answer was – not too well.

Thankfully, Yvette shed a little more light on the situation, “Everyone’s been going crazy here. I’m talking people suddenly changing positions, both for higher and lower. Or some leaks about the budget management. This one was just to screw everyone around.”

“Yeah, the accounting department has to sign super restrictive NDAs about this,” Vaughn shuddered. "The fact that anyone from outside got it and uploaded it to ECHOnet blows my mind.”

“Holy shit,” Rhys muttered. It really has been worse than he imagined.

“Oh, and here’s one I know you wanna know – they found his doppelgangers,” she leaned closer to Rhys’ side, whispering confidentially.

Just this one sentence, made Rhys jolt away and look at her with the biggest eyes, “No way.”

“Yes way,” Yvette drew her brows together. The look on her face suddenly seemed a little more uneasy. “They found their cabinets. The whole details were on Jack’s personal computer, on some hidden drive within the systems. It was even hard as hell to get this info, these files are buried deep. But they got all of them. Well above hundred! You can guess what happened next.”

“I never… Oh, god.”

When it came to Jack’s fan spaces, this was probably one of the hottest topics out there. Does he actually have body doubles and so, who are they and how many are there. From the start, Rhys was a firm believer that they just couldn’t exist. He couldn’t imagine Jack using an army of his copies do around stuff he enjoyed doing. But after Opportunity, everyone was made well aware of them. Rhys himself started looking through his things, trying to guess what was Jack and what was just a copy of him.

And to now discover what fate came to all of them? Rhys knew there really was none of Handsome Jack left in this world.

Fortunately, Yvette seemed to understand, putting her hand on his shoulder, “I know.” In her own Hyperion way.

At least, they seemed to know where he was coming from. Though he was the only one overwhelmed by the Handsome Jack craze, they always knew to let him have it. Supporting him and helping him with the promotion. Amongst the Hyperion bloodbath, Rhys was thankful to have his friends.

“Okay I have it,” signalized Vaughn, looking up from his ECHOdevice. “Sorry, sorry, but there’s another big thing you’ve missed.”

“They just keep on coming, do they.”

“You might wanna plug in your earphones, I don’t think the rest should know this too much.”

Rhys nodded and promptly, getting the earphones right from his pocket. He then took the device onto his hands and looked at the screen. Though it was even more so cryptic, since the only thing he could see clearly was an audio file called “TopSecretE_HV.mp3”. Knowing it was best not to say anything, Rhys played the file for his ears only.

“The stocks have been running lower and lower ever since Jack died… This is bad, honestly really bad.”

“Yeah, I hear ya on this. Mr. Henderson.”

“The mining sites we have installed over Pandora aren’t enough. Eridium Blight and Badlands are barely getting us from one week to another. I’m telling you, we’re in a shit pool now.”

“May I ask, ehm. Why are we running low on them in the first place? Though we’re already pumping Pandora dry off of Eridium.”

“We are! But these idiots are getting this shit injected onto them after seeing a Siren do this.”

“Ah, right. Of course.”

“Do you have any ideas for now? If we don’t fix it soon, Hyperion might be in a big ass trouble. Bigger than we are right now.”

“No, sir, I, ehm. I do not have any ideas.”

“Fair enough, me too. Just remember it, Hugo, I say this to you cause we’re confidential. I trust you, you’re my best worker.”

“Thank you, Mr. Henderson. I appreciate the honesty.”

On that note, the file ended. It wasn’t even the best quality one, someone clearly recorded it over on their flimsy ECHOdevice. Or an even worse setup. Still, every single word hit Rhys hard, all the meaning coming across with the biggest of forces.

“These sons of bitches,” Rhys muttered underneath his breath. “This- This can’t be right, right? This is some hidden camera or a game show, haha, this cannot be real.”

“Dude, I’m afraid it is. Allison, also from accounting, sent me this. Nobody will admit it out loud but we’re all talking about it,” Vaughn whispered, trying to remain confidential.

“I just… Wow, he’s being this blunt? They’re all buddy buddy now, he’s his special boy or whatever?” every word of his made his stomach flip with disgust. He just couldn’t believe any of this.

But it really was this simple. For the longest time, Rhys (and well, most Hyperion office workers) had suspected it. Now, it was right before him. The audio of his superior and now Senior Vice President of Hyperion, Saul Henderson talking about the Eridium deals with another middle manager (and a pain in Rhys’ ass), Hugo Vasquez. As if these two were the best of friends. The thought of it alone made Rhys sick but the fact that Vasquez was the one hearing about apparent budget problems? That just made his blood boil.

Hyperion was at its last breath and it would be Vasquez who would suffocate it. Fucking wonderful.

“Nobody really knows what to do. Both with the Eridium and Vasquez. I mean if they're so friendly, should we know anything else?” Yvette joined along, being a little more discreet than others. “At this rate, anyone could get to Henderson and get a deal to save a life.”

Besides the first shock, Rhys tried to recollect his thoughts. A lot of things echoing in his head in a round. Words of them both. The audio of Henderson and Vasquez. All these Handsome Jack interviews. And most importantly the silent vow he made to himself, almost as if it was the most important thing now in his life. It certainly felt this way.

His shoulders tensed in surprise. Rhys looked over from one to the other, the mix of resentment and a weird kind of hope within his stare.

Vaughn stopped him, before he could say anything, “Oh no. You have an idea.”

“Yeah. About getting a deal to save a life,” Rhys explained, promptly biting his bottom lip. “There, uh… There just might be. Several problems.”

* * *

“Welcome everyone to the quarterly party! I know I’m usually not here, but this quarter in particular has been very important. For one, we lost our… We lost the most important person in the whole galaxy, Handsome Jack. A moment of silence, please. I said, A MOMENT OF SILENCE!”

At this scream, the DJ finally stopped the music. Just for several seconds but it was effective enough.

“Thank you. Going back to this, I think Handsome Jack would want what we do now. Hold a crazy party in his memorial, drink till we’re dead and most importantly – keep the company flowing. We’ve been in a bad spot at first but the wheels are turning, it’s going forward. Hyperion might never be the same, but we can make it better. And one of the most important people for this process has been Rhys Strongfork, from the management department! Taking the Eridium mining to a complete new level, making sure Hyperion stays in the same high quality, as it’s always been. Let’s all raise our glasses, to celebrate Rhys, Hyperion and most importantly – Handsome Jack!!”

The sound of glasses clinking onto each other, people congratulating him and cheering. Hell, even Henderson right after that lovely speech of his, raised his glass in Rhys’ direction at first. Rhys swallowed roughly but tried to keep a good face to this bad game. That’s why he quickly thanked everyone around.

It’s not like he really wanted this to happen.

Sure, he came up with an idea, but to its core it was only an idea. Nothing more, nothing less. Especially since it was immediately met with stares of Vaughn and Yvette, as he explained it further. Maybe with some of their talkbacks. But the more they talked, the more they realized it’s probably the best Hyperion option they could think of. Besides, this could be the clearest path towards Rhys’ promotion, the one all three of them had been fighting for, for the longest time.

So Rhys just silenced everything in himself and called up a meeting with Henderson. The talk wasn’t too long, just him explaining the plan to the last detail. Though, the expression on Henderson’s face seemed to change with each one of Rhys’ sentences, in the end he agreed. As long as Rhys could get all the contacts and deals himself. If it was supposed to be his big shot, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he was going to do it on his own.

Then he did. Bit by bit, he and his friends arranged everything needed for the deal. Hell, he even went down to Pandora to seal the deal with all the investors and workers there. The smile on Henderson’s face couldn’t have been bigger and the joy of his coworkers and the stock market couldn’t have been greater. Them only, probably.

When the time of the quarterly party came by, all of the departments came together to organize the best one yet. Since this one was so special. For all the stock and a little more hope for Hyperion after Handsome Jack’s death. Rhys reluctantly agreed, knowing they all wanted to at least mask all the knives they had prepared for his back. Maybe even to mask the knife behind his own back.

Okay, that wasn’t the extent of Rhys’ motivation. Sure, he wasn’t exactly thrilled with everything regarding the mining deal. It was a given. What wasn’t a given from the start, was the praise, the nice words, the utter appreciation he had received. Every single word spoken to him, along with a pat on the back and smiles – that all just kept him going.

Cause in the end, Rhys felt like he deserved it. How could he not! He had achieved something others wouldn’t dream of, the tactical pull out of the harder situation in Hyperion. When it would take others months to figure it out, he did after a moment of thinking. And it worked. So that was the most important thing, the details didn’t play a role.

But Rhys wanted to be smarter than this. Between the handshakes, he could clearly see a fight starting to go off. A glass with undefined cocktails swung through the air. Rhys dodged it gracefully, covering his head. Just a typical Hyperion behavior – one moment you’re in heaven, other everyone tries to stab your corpse.

Two guys he could suspect were from the HR started a fight. One of them sucker punching the other, the other giving him a round. The crowd seemed to either join them or cheer on them. With a correct swung, one of the guys set the other one all across the bar table. Though, that didn’t stop the bartender from filling up a margarita. Picked up by no one other than Hugo Vasquez.

He then slid a bunch of dollars to the guy laying on the counter and winked at him. Rhys felt his hands shake.

How could he. Vasquez, that _asshole_ , always wanted to screw Rhys over. Even at a party, dedicated to him, all Vasquez did was to show up for a collective second and ruin the evening. Just like he did with his life.

Feeling the rage and the alcohol (he had an experience of getting too wasted in a bar before. Better safe than sorry) getting too much into his head, Rhys decided to walk out of the bar. A quick breath and he was ready to get back to the life of a party. As he stretched his arms and took step after step, he had to stop himself. Simple sight of someone made him lose most of that confidence.

“Hello, Rhys,” the certain someone said almost too carefully, leaning over a post right outside the bar, margarita in their hand.

Rhys pursed his lips, furrowing his brows together, “Vasquez.”

Yes, he followed him there. He deserved that explanation.

Of course, Vasquez only showed up for this, spending a large portion of the party outside. Too sophisticated to be shown to others, too sensational to listen to anyone else getting praised for their work. Vasquez did this, over and over, almost out of habit. Never learning to put his pride away, even for a single second. Rhys scoffed underneath his nose.

“So. Party going great or what?” Vasquez asked, not looking in his direction. Instead, he eyed his margarita glass and took a prompt sip.

“You’d know if you actually cared to show up inside, instead of paying the HR to start beating the shit out of each other,” muttered Rhys, ready to go back in. Yet, for some inexplicable reason he simply needed to know what Vasquez was set to do here. So with a hurried step, he approached the same post.

“I did, you were just too high up your own ass to see me order a margarita.”

“Me? High up my own ass? Wo-oah, then what exactly do you call what are you doing right now?”

“Enjoying the evening. And not listening to everyone trying to lick your ugly boots.”

Rhys rolled his eyes, “I like my boots, thank you very much, they’re comfortable.”

“Yeah, they’re ugly as shit,” Vasquez backhanded.

Another tense in his shoulders. It was a thing Vasquez always did, aside from boasting himself up at every possible occasion. He was an expert in making others feel like dirt for all the unnecessary reasons. Hell, seems like he’d even pay people to do it for himself.

“Do you think you can make it?” asked Vasquez, his voice sounding too somber for him.

“Huh?”

“Do you really think you can make it?” he repeated, even more certain this time around. “With the pouty lips of a five year old and toothpick legs?”

Rhys crossed his arms right on his chest, “Brave words for someone who drowns himself in deodorant each morning.”

“That’s not what I meant, Rhys. You lack the balls. And the gut. Your pudgy face won’t work with the ruthlessness of Hyperion,” his hand let the glass mix. “Sure, you got your 10 seconds of blood fame but what then? You’re just too soft to make the cut.”

“And for some reason I got that deal and you didn’t,” he said so sharply, it almost surprised himself. “I know you’re just jealous that it was me but face it – I am simply better. Maybe you’re also jealous of that bonus I’m getting, I don’t know.”

However, Vasquez didn’t buy this, “Do you know the corporate word for this? Vampire money. Cause it sucks out all of your soul and leaves it dry. Still, you get the goods but – are you ready to really accept the cost?”

There was this silence for a second. Rhys really wanted to see if there was anything else he wanted to add, since he got this talkative. Any other corporate slang he’s learnt on that cushy spot next to Henderson. It’s not like his words did anything else than to just annoy the crap out of Rhys. At least, he hoped.

“Well, I already accepted that it’s a given. But you? You will stand like, eeeh, half a year tops. But it will destroy you, Rhys. Mark my words,” this time Vasquez didn’t look away, even for a second. He emptied his glass, right afterwards, eyeing him suspiciously.

Alright, that was enough. Sure, Rhys could stand it at the beginning. But the venomous words, the “stuck in his ass” attitude and god, his awful tone of voice. Ever since Rhys got to Hyperion, Vasquez was there to serve his unnecessary takes and ideals onto him. When in reality, he knew nothing about who he was. Maybe, he himself needed a comedown.

“Look, as I’ve said – you’re just jealous. You think I lack the balls when it’s because of me Hyperion will bathe in Eridium for the next several years. It’s not my fault that you’re here longer than me, and you still ask Henderson for a hall pass. I’ve earned this spot, a-alright? I’ve done everything I could to get here. And if that’s not enough for you to at least appreciate what I do, then you can choke on that margarita,” he finally decided to put him into his place.

The cold stare he gave him was enough to keep him silent. Rhys took a deeper breath and let his shoulders drop for once. With a spin, he walked towards the bar where some actually appreciated what he'd done.

“’s your funeral,” Vasquez replied.

Rhys didn’t listen anymore.

* * *

Vampire money? Yeah, sure. As if Rhys was ready to believe this.

It all sounded like a hoax. Or a cautionary tale for newbies not to get too cocky next to their higher ups. The one that Rhys would probably get served by his superiors about two years ago. When he was gullible enough for them to tell him any kind of bullshit that would make him feel remorse for years gone by.

The truth was that Rhys wasn’t the same kind of guy who he was several years ago. Soon enough, he won’t even be the same guy as at this time. He was aware of the times changing. All he could do was to stay afloat.

When you work in such megacorporation as Hyperion and you live with assholes on Helios, you sorta have to develop a thick skin. Just to survive the constant assault of the talkbacks. Rhys was aware of this. Since his beginning, he had to listen to people call him things they never should’ve said in the first place. It wasn’t as if Rhys wasn’t used to this.

But it was about to change. His whole life was about to change, in just several seconds. Firstly, the Eridium deal, then the quarterly bonus. Rhys knew exactly what he wanted to do.

Ever since he got into Helios and started observing the ever-changing trends, he always wanted this one thing – cybernetic enhancements. Rhys had always looked fondly over the stories about men who were half machine with impossible abilities. Now when it was about to be his truth, Rhys knew he simply needed the ones for his eye and hand. And the port in the temple, sure.

It was all perfect! Rhys was left-handed, so getting his right hand to serve as an enhancement was much of an improvement. Not to mention, his joints always felt a little weaker in his hand. If he just had them all replaced, his life would be so so much better. The ECHOeye too, will be a perfect improvement. Rhys had chosen the blue one, just like Handsome Jack’s heterochromia. Unfortunately, his natural ones were in that dark caramel shade of brown. Still, it was something.

And the icing on the cake – all of these will be his biggest help during the another surge of Eridium deal. The data mining department will welcome him with open hands, as he himself will become one giant data mining tool. It truly was a deal of the lifetime.

All of this from the money from the mining deal. The one that will change his life forever. How could this ever be a bad thing?

Well… Alright, not quite.

Cause the details of it kept Rhys asleep for too many nights to count. Thinking of what it meant for Pandora, for its people. These nights, Rhys tried to silence the voices in his head and let them all go towards something else. Anything really.

That thick skin… Wasn’t maybe always the case. And Rhys hated just how sensitive and soft he could’ve gotten. But what could he really do? He cared, he truly cared. That was probably his fatal flaw, while working for Hyperion. Though, he also couldn’t let Vasquez win and be right about everything he’s said about the money and the gut. All Rhys needed to do was to turn off his mind and… Think like Handsome Jack! Yes, that was the case! With this everything will be all alri-

“Hey, bro, you okay?” Vaughn asked, seeing Rhys drift away for another time.

“Ehm, yes yes, of course. Just a little anxious, you know,” he brushed away both his thoughts and the lock of his hair.

“Don’t worry, everyone on the ECHOnet says it’s mostly harmless and not painful at all,” from his other side, Yvette clarified.

Rhys raised his brow, “Mostly?”

“Sure. You will always get these assholes who will purposefully lower the score,” the tone of Yvette’s voice was so calm, he couldn’t believe it. “But that’s nothing, Rhys! Look, you’re dealing with the best surgeons who exist. It would be a miracle or a case of very bad luck to get anything wrong.”

“Yvette, how long do we know each other?”

“Haha, you can’t even appreciate a good joke,” she then punched his right arm. She really had to enjoy it while she could, since in just several minutes his arm will be a stone hard metal.

The silence between them fell, still waiting for any callback from the doctor. People passed before them, making the already long minutes feel like hours. Rhys got almost transfixed on the rhythm of their steps, tapping against shiny Hyperion flooring. The amount of them got into his head, even more so making him aware how little there really was between him and the surgeon table. Despite the general distance towards surgeries, Rhys truly could feel the anxiety towards it rising.

Besides the other thought. The one that emerged whenever a new person entered the scene.

“I… I deserve it, right? I mean, the whole bonus… I deserve this,” said Rhys, though the words felt too distant even to him.

“Obviously!”

“Totally, yeah!”

Another beat of silence. The uneasy look on Rhys’ face still grew, tapping his hands on his knees in a frantic yet rhythmical way.

“Did… Did you get any info from the investors, though?” Vaughn asked.

“Vaughn!” immediately, Yvette scolded him.

“What, just wanna know.”

“Maybe don’t ask him that before he’s gonna go for a surger-“

Rhys silenced both of them with a simple move of his hands.

“Guys…” he started carefully, looking from one to the other. “No? Not really, in terms of progress or anything about this.”

“Oh, alright,” nodded Vaughn and decided to better not speak of it further.

Unlike Yvette, who this time decided to go a little forward, “How are you… Feeling with this?”

Another heavy sigh from Rhys. How could he truly feel with all this? The thought that has been plaguing his mind ever since? It really felt like everyone was trying to guilt trip him into admitting it was a mistake. Even his own self. But Rhys was more stubborn, more focused. He wanted to think just like Handsome Jack would. And all this time, he knew that Handsome Jack wouldn’t cry over small details like this. That’s what kept him going all this time.

“It’s… It’s fine, really,” started Rhys with a sort of nervous laughter following. He quickly cleared his throat, “I mean it, geez guys. I really appreciate it but hey, we’re making progress! Just several more steps and we’re gonna make it. Aaand I think this surgery is another step. Well, since it wouldn’t be possible without the deal, I mean, doesn’t it mean it was a good idea?”

“When you put it this way…” Yvette pondered. “God, I am so sick of this place. We really have to set up our own rules here. I really want it to be bearable.”

“One step at a time, alright? Yesterday, it was a mining deal, today the surgery and well, we never know what happens tomorrow. Maybe the whole Hyperion is waiting for this… The only thing we gotta do is to move forward. No more looking back,” the dreaminess in Rhys’ tone was infectious, they simply couldn’t say no. Along the somberness of his last words, almost as if Jack was there to echo him.

“Okay! Fine, you convinced me,” she laughed. “No matter what, we’re supporting you, Rhys.”

“Hell yeah, you’re gonna take it by the storm,” Vaughn added in.

“Thanks… But I couldn’t have done it without you two. I mean without you, I’d probably still be in my apartment,” Rhys smiled. “We’re all gonna make it one day.”

But the daydreams of all of them had to wait. Another man had entered the room, hurriedly looking between all the people sitting.

“Mr. Rhys Strongfork?” he called out, almost uncertain that it was even a real name.

“Yes! That’s me,” Rhys called out and stood up to go with the man.

Taking one last look at Vaughn and Yvette, he nodded to them conspicuously. Muffled “good luck!” had entered his space, as he was already walking towards the surgery room. It was now or never, he knew it. When he wakes up, he’ll be a new and better man, almost ready to rule the whole Hyperion. To achieve his own dreams and follow in Handsome Jack’s footsteps, do as he could want.

Frankly, Rhys couldn’t wait for it to come true.

* * *

“Rhys? Can I ask you in my office for a second?”

Looking up from the projection of a document over his cybernetic hand, Rhys made a puzzled face.

“What for, sir?”

“Oh, you’ll see,” Henderson said with that mysterious tone of his.

There really was nothing else Rhys could say. He wasn’t near the offices too often, actually. It was out of blind luck or a sheer coincidence, he got the task to check around the sector and compare the documents. Or maybe it was deliberate? Rhys didn’t need to question. He simply followed Henderson into his own office.

The spacious room with almost nothing to it, other than a desk in the middle seemed much more welcoming today. Along with the face of Elpis, almost reachable from behind the window. A place where it all started for Handsome Jack, now looking at him with its fortune.

He quickly took a seat, waiting for Henderson to say anything.

“Rhys… Rhys Strongfork. You know you are one of our top managers around here, and well, workers in general,” the words of Henderson slipping by to Rhys, absorbing each and every one of them.

“Thank you, Mr. Henderson,” and Rhys knew better not to say too much from himself in these talks.

“It’s been a great pleasure to have you working with us. Your management skills are impeccable, not to mention your data mining abilities. I don’t know anyone else who would use their cybernetics to such advantage.”

“It’s a matter of getting used to,” Rhys ran fingers through his hair.

Since t’s been close to a year since his surgery, he developed a fondness for them. It was a trial and error session of both maintaining and usage. Rhys had quickly learnt that the cybernetics were amazing in searching for newest information and solutions, and much stronger than his human arm. Besides, it was fun to watch movies right from his arm. An improvement overall.

“And the Eridium mining deal. We’ve really been in a ditch before you pulled us out. Hyperion should be thankful,” all this time looking through his window, Henderson finally turned around to face him. A shiver sent down Rhys’ spine.

“Mr… Mr. Henderson, what are you leading up to?” patience was running low on Rhys. As always.

“Meet me here tomorrow. We’ll discuss the details of your promotion,” concluded Henderson.

Breath got stuck in Rhys’ throat. His eyes shined and hell, he was sure his mouth was now hanging a little open.

Afterwards, his mind couldn’t exactly follow anything. He was sure he thanked Henderson and promised to be there, right on time. Then, he stepped out of the office, leaned over the wall and tried to catch his breath. But he couldn’t exactly remember doing any of this.

What he did remember was looking across the corridor, seeing the poster of Handsome Jack. Always so confident and so in his own mind. Victorious, never to be beaten down. He was smiling, of course, ready to take on the action. Rhys was sure he’d be just like him.

He would call both Vaughn and Yvette about this. They’d scream to each other in private, unable to contain their excitement. Maybe they’d even celebrate this night, getting drinks but saving for the following day. He’d wear his best outfit, put on his best Hyperion face. Yet all it mattered to Rhys now, was that look at Handsome Jack, like a sign or a cue. He smiled to himself, just as victoriously.

The future was finally looking bright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see ya in chapter 3 when the real deal plot begins 😎

**Author's Note:**

> several notes:  
> \- treat the other fics in the TFTBL AU series as kinda just additions. the most important stuff will be in this fic  
> \- my goal is to update it at least once a month!  
> \- the number of chapters comes from my very rough estimation. if anything changes Ill update it, it might not be final  
> \- here is the reference for the [Omni-Cannon](https://borderlands.fandom.com/wiki/Omni-Cannon) , the gun Timothy uses  
> \- my hc for Rhys' home planet comes up often so - its' name is Boreas, it's a very cold planet with lots of snow, where several months a year there is little to no sunlight. think of it as space Iceland
> 
> find me at my [twitter](https://twitter.com/how_bad_me_be) or [tumblr](https://lavend-ler.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> also pls check out [Spok's art blog](https://spoks-illogical-art.tumblr.com/) and their [TFTBL AU](https://spoks-illogical-art.tumblr.com/tagged/tftbl-au) tag 💜💜


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